1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and, more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for recording, playing back, and displaying (including externally outputting) photographed still images and moving images, and to a computer-readable storage medium therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, image processing apparatuses, such as electronic cameras, for recording and playing back still images and moving images, using a memory card having a solid-state memory device as a recording medium, have rapidly become popular. Recently, electronic cameras having an electronic viewfinder (hereinafter referred to as an “EVF”) formed by a color liquid-crystal panel, etc., have appeared.
According to these electronic cameras having an EVF, the camera composition, by which a photograph is to be taken, be displayed on a finder or on the EVF incorporated in the camera and can be confirmed. In particular, an image to be photographed is displayed on the EVF, etc., and the camera composition is determined by the image to be photographed. These functions are very convenient and are only possible in electronic cameras.
In such a conventional electronic camera, as described above, an image to be photographed (recorded) is displayed on the electronic viewfinder (EVF), such as the color liquid-crystal panel. When an attempt is made to determine the camera composition by the image, after a correction process based on a correction value determined by the camera for appropriate exposure, etc., is performed on image data obtained from an image pickup device, the image is displayed on the EVF.
This image data is recorded using an irreversible compression process, such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group) coding having a high compression ratio. After compression is performed on the image (image data) displayed on the EVF, it is stored in a storage medium, such as a compact flash card (hereinafter also referred to as a “CF card”).
For this reason, one problem in the conventional image processing apparatus, such as the electronic camera, is that the image displayed on the EVF when the camera composition is determined differs from the image (image data) which is stored in the recording medium such as the CF card. That is, an image differing (specifically, the image quality is degraded as a result of an irreversible compression process) from the image displayed on the EVF is stored in the recording medium such as the CF card.
As described above, in the conventional image processing apparatus such as the electronic camera, image data is stored onto a recording medium such as the CF card after processing based on the correction value for appropriate exposure, etc., which is determined to be appropriate by the camera, and irreversible compression such as JPEG coding having a high compression ratio.
For this reason, there is a problem in that the image which is displayed on the EVF when the camera composition is determined and which is recognized by a user differs from the image after the irreversible compression process is performed, which is stored on the recording medium such as the CF card.